Mikel Merino has spoken about his adaption to life in England with Arsenal.
The midfielder moved from the Basque Country to sign for the Gunners in the summer of 2024, and he had just won the **European Championships**with Spain. At Real Sociedad, he was a surefire starter, but things were not always easy for the 29-year-old in his first year in North London.
**England**might have been second best in the Euros final last year, but the challenges of the Premier League took time for Merino to refamiliarize himself with after his spell at Newcastle United. His stint as an emergency striker offered more room for development, and he now feels far more settled.
“The rhythm and the pace in the Premier League is high. the tempo is really high and everyone takes their chances they have to run and to go forward and this sometimes is madness in the pitch.
“But you have to adapt to it the best way possible. In LaLiga is a more tactical point of view of football, more collective, more being patient on the ball and trying to pass to each other.
“And Premier League is more about just go forward to the opposite goal and score as soon as possible. So, sometimes it's tiring, but you have to keep up with the pace.
“I wasn't used to being in the box as much. And obviously that time last year where I had to play as a striker. I think it has helped me a lot in terms of identifying where to position myself on the box, where are the weaknesses from the of the center backs, what they like to do, what they do not.
“Every training session, every game is a chance to learn, a chance to improve. And I think I've used all those all those moments to become a threat now in the box. and I'm happy to be scoring goals and hopefully I can keep doing it.”